VIDEO: Rocket 'terminated' in fiery explosion over Pacific Ocean

Gulf Today Report

Firefly Aerospace failed in its first attempt to reach space, after its first Alpha rocket exploded, about two minutes into the launch.

Firefly Aerospace, a private American airline based in Austin, Texas, launched the first orbital test flight of an Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, after about an hour’s delay in the countdown.

Everything looked fine at the start of the flight, but then the 29-metre Alpha ran into trouble and exploded in a thrilling fireball high in the California sky.

"The Alpha rocket suffered a deflection condition during its launch in the first stage, which resulted in a loss of control and an explosion," the company's representatives said on its Twitter account.

They added, "Failure should not come as a big surprise. Getting into space is difficult."